Charuk defends title at La Ruta

Routley third, Zeglinski in top 10 in Costa Rican race

That Kind of Race More than 400 riders started the 2008 La Ruta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica, including three Whistler riders - Mike Charuk, Tony Routley and Cathy Zeglinski. Photo by La Ruta

The annual La Ruta de los Conquistadores is one of the toughest
mountain bike stage races on the planet. What it lacks in technical terrain it
makes up for in mud, long climbs, endless descents, and length. Average riders
can take 10 hours or more to finish each section.

Three Whistler riders took part this year. Mike Charuk
successfully defended his Master B title, placing first out of 98 racers. On the
four stages he was first, second, third and third respectively, and finished
with a time of 21 hours, 53 minutes and 44 seconds. Costa Rican rider Alfaro
Melvin Rojas was second in 22:15:06, after placing eighth on the first day then
winning the next three stages. Luckily Charuk built up a strong lead after the
first stage, more than 22 minutes faster than the next rider and 52 minutes
over Rojas. Third place in that category went to another Canadian, Andrew
Handford, in 22:36:47.

Tony Routley placed third out of almost 40 riders in the
Veterans category, behind Norwegian rider — and former Tour de France
racer — Kristian Silseth Ole and veteran Costa Rican rider Rob
Ballesteros Villalobos. Routley’s time was 24:11:48, just 16:53 back of the
lead after four days.

Both Charuk and Routley raced for Team Whistler/Ryders Eyewear.

Dr. Cathy Zeglinski accomplished her goal of finishing in the
top 10 in the women’s category with a time of 31:49:47, 6:53:07 back of the
leader, Adriana Rojas Cubero of Costa Rica. Canada’s Sandra Walter was second,
and Sara Bresnick-Zocchi of the U.S. third.

“It was a brutal, brutal experience,” said Zeglinski, who was
racing La Ruta for the first time. “I don’t think anything can really prepare
you for that. Nobody told me how much pavement you ride, and even from a
Whistler perspective it was tough with four hour climbs.”

Zeglinski said it helped to have a background that includes
road riding, with riders taking off in a pack at the beginning, and taking
turns leading and drafting on the course.

The weather was the best in recent years with almost no rain,
although there was a lot of mud on the first section because of all the rain
from the previous week. The temperature also climbed to over 40 degrees on the
final day, causing sunburns and heat-related illnesses.

“The first day I was in fifth after the mud section, at about
the 68 km mark, then I hit the pavement and it was brutal. People were lying on
the side of the road, and one guy was in intensive care because he drank too
much water and not enough electrolytes. I just started to fade after that and
watch the other girls pass me. The last day was really tough, and the last 30
km were so hard, it was all on a hot, dusty gravel road.”